


Sssshhhhh

by Falconette



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-01
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2018-03-04 15:36:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3073187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Falconette/pseuds/Falconette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first move...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sssshhhhh

**Author's Note:**

> Mind you, Haru is not my cuppa but this scenario played out in my head like a flash one day and I wrote it down. I see him as a person who could have had a lot of problems in the future due to being so introvert and insistent on the old ways of doing things, disliking changes and decisions (ouch, that is seriously not good :/) and season 2 is basically about him overcoming that part of his personality although I think dealing with that kind of issue will be a lifelong struggle.
> 
> Good luck to you, Haru (and Harus of the world, wherever you are).

**Ssshhhh…**

Swimming aimlessly back and forth though lanes, watching out for other swimmers and washing your hair every day did not sound like a perfect holiday but in a small town like this one, especially during summer hiatus, the choice of activities was anything but vast.

None of your friends would be persuaded to join you so you went alone, partly out of boredom, partly stubbornness. It was awkward. You didn’t know the etiquette. You had no idea where the changing rooms or showers were, the way the lock system on lockers worked, where you could tread barefoot and where it was forbidden. There seemed to be a hundred little unwritten rules and you must have broken them all, uncomfortably standing out in your bathing suit on top of that. Everybody seemed to know everybody else and you felt like a jutting misfit, an impostor trying to vainly blend in. The fact that the last time you went swimming was years ago did not improve the impression. After just a few minutes in the water you were exhausted, clinging to the edge and casting envious glances at other swimmers tirelessly sliding by you, back and forth, back and forth. When you packed your things and finally went home that day, fatigued and aching all over, you were happy to leave that place and its omnipresent chlorine smell.

The next day you set your jaw and came back again. What else could you do?

It got better much sooner than you expected. The layout of the club was not so confusing once you got used to its spaces and even the faces of other swimmers started looking familiar, almost friendly. Also, your body began to accept the exertion you put it through and perform in a way that surprised you. You got and felt better and soon the day was not complete unless you made at least a quick stop at the swimming club.

The more your self-consciousness was fading away, the more you started paying attention to your surroundings and soon noticed you were not the only regular visitor there. Apart from couple of retired men that came for their daily therapeutic exercises, your visits frequently overlapped with those of four friends who were on a completely different level than other recreational swimmers like yourself.

Just by their powerful and confident sweeps and developed physique, the determination with which they showed up every day, you could tell these boys were here for a reason. Watching the way they entered the water, arms outstretched like twin spears, bodies taut and elongated but flexible and nimble, fast underwater and even quicker to turn, gave you a good perspective on how clumsy and full of redundant flapping your style was. While they were using the water to propel themselves, you were fighting it, struggling to subdue it and inevitably losing precious strength.

As time passed, you managed to discern their particular styles and personalities. The tall, shy one was also the strongest, his power was clearly heard in loud splashes his long arms made while energetically hitting the surface. The nerdy looking one seemed to be obsessed with details, he could spend hours just polishing up a particular movement or a hand, leg, head position. The one with the baby face would always bring sweets to the poolside despite the clear sign forbidding such practice and he was also the loudest, spending as much time in the water as getting distracted by all sorts of things outside the pool. And there was him, the quiet one. Even to an untrained eye there was no doubt he was the one who negotiated the water with the greatest ease. It was not just his speed – and he _was_ fast – it was the elegance, the naturalness of his being when he was submerged.

Before you knew it, their practice time became regular time of your recreation, when you could swim unnoticed in adjacent lanes and follow the boys' progress, watch their good and bad days, eavesdrop on their little fights and inadvertently smile when they would have a hearty laugh. They were all at a much higher level than other swimmers, but between them the silent boy was clearly out of their league.

And then his eyes started lingering on you.

Maybe it was because you started showing up regularly or because your swimming style finally started resembling a deliberate sequence of purposeful movements. Maybe he just caught you watching and got curious. Anyhow, he started giving you slightest nods of acknowledgment as you passed by – a courtesy you would automatically return, only afterwards contemplating how calm and deep the gaze of his eyes was as they locked with yours for those brief moments. The others started following suit, probably figuring you were his acquaintance, and that’s how you got to know Nagisa, Makoto, Rei and – Haruka.

Before you knew it, he was all you were thinking of. Even though now coming to the pool meant meeting the four new friends and hanging out together, the others simply blurred in the background. His silence seemed to out weight all the words and noise the others were making. Next to him you felt awkward, you felt weak and energetic at the same time, you felt your cheeks burn for all to see. As the summer was nearing its end, you were in it deep.

Knowing the holidays and your time together would soon be history, you lingered by the pool longer and longer in silent agreement to make the best of what was left of it. The owner was the boys’ friend so they had access even after public working hours – a benefit you were often exploiting. It would usually get dark outside when you would head home and stars were already shining brightly in that summer night as you finally went to your locker for a change, water from shower still dripping from your skin and swimsuit.

The corner your number was at was tenebrous and out of the way, but you didn’t really notice this until you almost stumbled upon somebody leaning against the row of closed locker doors. Your eyes widened in shock but you recognized Haruka at the last moment, just as you were about to scream in shock. As you opened your mouth to vent out your anguish, Makoto’s voice came from the other side of the partition edged with lockers,

“Haru, did you see Nagisa’s shirt?” the tall boy called out, walking towards you, top of his ruffled hair moving closer behind the row of lockers. You felt a gentle tug as Haruka’s fingers closed around your biceps and pulled you into the darkness of the corner. Your body stiffened but obliged, melting into the dark patch.  

“He seems to have… misplaced… it.” Makoto’s voice lost its volume and confidence as he neared the dark edge of the changing room, the dead-end where your locker was. As his slowing steps neared, Haruka’s pull became stronger, moving you away from the reach of light and closer to him. A little bit more and you would have leaned against his chest but Makoto hesitated and Haruka stilled, holding you so close you clearly smelled the faint shampoo scent on his damp hair. He must have felt your heart race like a bird’s and that realization made you blush violently, grateful for the absence of light.

“Haru?  A-are you there?”” Makoto’s voice now sounded thin and skittish for some reason and you were about to turn and greet him, trying to make up a good explanation for finding the two of you like this, but Haruka pressed a finger against your lips before you could open your mouth.

Your eyes shot upwards to his but, as always, their gaze was impossible to read. The gesture, however, was clear. Don’t make a sound.

So you didn’t, trying really hard not to make any contact of skin against skin, calming your jittering nerves in vain. He was too close, your breath must have tickled his skin and he too must have been aware of your body so near him. It was weird. It was exciting.

You squeezed your eyes shut, letting the conflicting emotions collide and boil inside you. It was the most awkward thing that ever happened to you. It was the best thing that ever happened to you. You wanted it to stop right now because you couldn’t take it any longer; you wanted it to last forever.

Then you heard the sound of Makoto’s footsteps fading away and, with a stab of regret, the pressure of Haruka’s fingertip disappearing from your lips.

“What was that all about?” you managed to whisper in a hoarse voice, feeling your heart pound in your throat. He seemed completely unfazed, throwing you off balance and making you helplessly angry. Was he used to doing stuff like that in dark changing rooms?!

Ignoring you question, he flatly stated in a soft voice, “I am leaving for Australia tomorrow.”

“What?” you inadvertently took a step back, away from the reach of his radiating body heat and tickling of his breath.

“A friend returned with a plane ticket for me, there is a competition he enlisted me in. I didn’t even know until this morning.” the words flowed slowly across his lips, like he was unaccustomed to long explanations. “When I fly back, the new school year will have already begun and we will start training at our own pool. I will not be coming back here until the next summer.”

“But… umm… ok.” you nodded, not really knowing how to react. The news saddened you more than you expected. “I hope you will have a nice stay in…”

“Would you like to see me again, when I come back?” he cut you off with an uncharacteristically impatient edge, disregarding your empty politeness and making you catch your breath. All you could do was blink at him, at his composed features. Only then, because your eyes had adjusted to the gloom, you realized his usually pale cheeks were bright red.

He must have noticed because he looked away, uncomfortably shifted and said without a prompt, “You improved a lot since your first day here.”

“You… saw me? You never said…” your own face was burning now, reminded of your first clumsy attempts at getting around, talking to people, doing something resembling swimming.

Haruka only shrugged, his eyes still fixated on nothing particular, “You made a bigger relative progress than any of us.”

“That is a very diplomatic way of putting it.” you smiled sourly, unsure whether he was mocking or praising you. His expression was impassive, unreadable, the attempt to decipher that façade frustrating.

“I saw you on your first day. You clearly didn’t belong, it was obvious. To you, to everybody. But you still came, alone, and came back, again and again.” Haruka’s voice was even but careful to pick words, lining them up with obvious strain, struggling to express himself. You have never heard him speak so much and you were afraid if you stopped him now, he would never speak like that to you again.

“I could never do something like that.” he added in such a soft voice it was barely audible, avoiding your gaze. “I am not good with new things or new people.”

His eyes shifted across the floor, hesitant, and then looked at you and you suddenly understood. There was no façade at all, only thinly veiled vulnerable caution. Like a wild animal wanting to be domesticated, struggling between his instinct and his yearning. You dared not make a sound or move, fearing he’d close up again.

“I admire that. So I thought… I’d try to step out of my comfort zone too and fly to Australia.…” his voice was losing composure with waning confidence, his back pressing against the lockers behind him. Now his eyes were darting across your face, not languid at all anymore, in attempt to read your expression. He was ready to withdraw, it was all there in his nervous tone, tight body language. “Also, to…”

His mouth closed and refused to listen to his will anymore, only his eyes pleadingly radiated what he wanted to say.

“Yes, I would like to see you when you return.” you blurted out as if reaching out a hand to him and anguish dissipated from his face with a slight, relieved smile.

“Haru-chaaaan!” a high pitched voice suddenly rang out and you both froze, your heads instinctively turning towards the room entrance, “Are you here?”

“It’s Nagis…” you leaned in to conspiratorially whisper to Haruka and, instead of his finger, something softer and warmer pressed against your lips. Your eyes widened at a close up of his black eyelashes and closed eyelids right in front of you, his fingertips tenderly cupping your chin and pulling you closer, away from the light. You gave in, letting his arm slide around your waist and press your skin against his firm stomach, feel his body tremble in anticipation and delight just like yours. Sensing your consent, he stepped closer and put another arm around you, as your chin rested on his shoulder in a tight embrace.

"Well," you said quietly after awhile, when your pulse calmed to a comfortable, lulling beat "I admire _that."_

Haruka's chest only let out a short sigh and you knew he was smiling.

You stood like that for a long time, not caring whether somebody was going to walk in on you. It was better than you ever thought it would be, a priceless gift, a reward for you both. Nothing could spoil this moment, not even when your damp skin started getting goose bumps and your friends were at the verge of organizing a search party.

Then suddenly, it dawned on you.

“You appointed me this locker today!” you jumped back and held the small key in the air in front of him, realizing the darkness of this corner was no coincidence at all. His orbs followed the arch the tiny metal object made in air with his usual impassive expression – and then he let out a loud, genuine laugh. Even his eyes were laughing.

For the first time, for you.

 


End file.
